ABSTRACT

Onion (Allium cepa L.) and garlic (Allium sativum L.), among the oldest
cultivated plants, are used both as a food and for medical applications. In fact,
these common food plants are a rich source of several phyto nutrients
recognized as important elements of the Mediterranean diet, but also used in
the treatment and prevention of a number of diseases, including cancer,
coronary heart disease, obesity, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes type 2,
hypertension, cataract and disturbances of the gastrointestinal tract (e.g. colic
pain, flatulent colic and dyspepsia). These activities ar3e related to the
thiosulfinates, volatile sulfur compounds, which are also responsible for the
pungent of these vegetables. Besides these low-molecular weight compounds,
onion and garlic are characterized by more polar compounds of phenolic and
steroidal origin, often glycosylated, showing interesting pharmacological
properties. These latter compounds, compared to the more studied
thiosulfinates, presents the advantages to be not pungent and more stable for
cooking. Recently, there has been an increasing scientific attention on such
compounds. In this paper, the literature about the major volatile and non-
volatile phyto constituents of onion and garlic has been reviewed. Particular
attention was given to the different methodology developed to perform
chemical analysis, including separation and structural elucidation.
INTRODUCTION

The onion(Allium cepa) which is also called a bulb onion, common onion and
and garden onion is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium.
The plants name comes from the Latin Unio or annianus and is associated with
the welsh einion, meaning “anvil”. The late Latin name Unio was used to
describe a species of onion resembling a single white pearl, (Davidson,1998).

He further stated that it was later formed into the basis for the French, “oignon”
and then later the English, “onion”.